(Yicai Global) May 17 -- Shares of Futu Holdings and Up Fintech Holding fell after China’s securities watchdog ordered the online brokers to remove their apps from Chinese mainland app stores.

Futu’s stock [NASDAQ: FUTU] closed down 4.4 percent at USD41.24 in New York yesterday, while Up Fintech [NASDAQ: TIGR] sank 7.4 percent to USD2.64.

In separate statements yesterday, the pair said that they will pull Tiger International and Futu Niuniu from mainland app stores tomorrow and on May 19, respectively, as required by the China Securities Regulatory Commission.

The CSRC said at the end of December that Futu and Up Fintech were providing mainland investors with cross-border securities services without permits and should rectify the issue. The regulator had earlier criticized online brokers several times for doing unlicensed cross-border business.

Mainland users who have already downloaded the apps can continue to use them, Up Fintech and Futu said, adding that users in other countries and regions can continue to download and use the apps normally.

Founded in 2012, Futu’s net profit rose 4.2 percent to USD375.2 million last year on a 7 percent gain in revenue to USD976 million. It had 3.2 million registered clients as of last December, an increase of 17.5 percent from a year earlier.

Up Fintech was set up in 2014. It turned a net profit of USD14.7 million in 2021 into a net loss of USD2.2 million last year. Its revenue tumbled 14.8 percent to USD225.4 million. At the end of last year, Up Fintech had 2 million client accounts, up 8.8 percent from a year earlier.

Editors: Dou Shicong, Futura Costaglione